One Year Ago Today

04/25/201605/08/2016globegazers 3 Comments

Since we have returned home from our round-the-world trip, on quiet evenings we like to play a game where we try to remember what we were doing on the same day one year ago. For example, on March 25, we remembered that one year ago we had left Ko Lanta in Thailand and flown to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. On October 25, we remembered that one year ago we had been exploring ancient Olympia in Greece.

One year ago today is a milestone that we are not soon to forget.

One year ago today, we were in Nepal.

One year ago today, we left the town of Syabru Bensi and started hiking up the Langtang River valley on the first day of our Langtang trek, which we had been looking forward to the entire trip. We chose to take the “low road” path that stayed down in the valley with a more gradual ascent.

One year ago today, on the trail we leapfrogged a few different groups and individuals, making small talk about the scenic canyon and the arduous nature of the elevation gain.

One year ago today, we debated continuing to hike for another hour to our intended first night’s stop of Rimche, but then decided to take a break for tea and chapati in the village of Bamboo.

The view from our table at the teahouse

One year ago today, at 11:56 Nepal time, at 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal about 100 km west of the Langtang valley.

One year ago today, as we were drinking our tea, we felt the ground shaking beneath our chairs. We turned to each other and asked, almost incredulously, “Is this an earthquake?”

One year ago today, we weren’t quite sure what to do in an earthquake. We thought about running into the teahouse, but changed our mind when the workers ran out of it.

One year ago today, we followed everyone up onto the raised terrace that belonged to the teahouse, and sheltered ourselves under wooden tables while boulders as big as cars crashed down from either side of the canyon.

One year ago today, we saw the teahouse we had considered running into flattened by a falling boulder.

Looking south at the teahouses immediately after the quake. Compare to the above picture

One year ago today, we followed the other tourists, guides and villagers up just above the village to an area with two huge boulders that had not moved, with a small depression in between.

This photo was taken by fellow trekker Corey: http://www.gofundme.com/tjssd5h9

One year ago today, we huddled against these boulders as further aftershocks and landslides occurred, praying for moments of calm and pleading with the Earth to stay still.

One year ago today, we stretched out for a night of fitful sleep under an orange tarp thoughtfully put up by others in the group.

One year ago today, our families and friends back in the USA heard the news of an earthquake in Nepal, but did not know exactly where we were or how badly our area had been hit.

One year ago today, we began to make connections with this group that would help us survive until we were rescued five days later.

One year ago today, the village of Langtang, two days walk further up the trek (and where we were planning on spending our second or third night), was wiped off the map when a glacier broke off on the mountain above, triggering a massive landslide.

One year ago today, in Kathmandu, the royal palace and many of the historic temples surrounding Durbar Square (which we had visited three days prior) were destroyed.

One year ago today, the building adjoining the hotel that we had stayed in while in Kathmandu collapsed, killing multiple people inside.

The same view after the quake, with the hotel just beyond in rubble

One year ago today, a villager on the trail just below where we sat was struck in the head and killed by a falling rock.

One year ago today, Or Assaraf, an Israeli trekker who had ridden on the same bus to Syabru Bensi that we did but had started his trek in the direction of the Gosakind Lakes, was killed in a landslide triggered by the earthquakes.

One year ago today, over 8000 people in Nepal lost their lives.

One year ago today, we were truly fortunate.

For more information about our experience, you can read our series on the Nepal earthquake. Many of the organizations that we highlighted in our how to help post have continued to do great work in Nepal as the country continues to rebuild, so please consider donating.

Getting Back to GlobeGazing!

03/13/2016globegazers 1 Comment

We are getting quite close to another milestone on our big RTW… We’re almost to the point where we have been back to “real life” for as long as we were away.

One year ago today, we were exploring the colorful, lively markets of Mae Sot, Thailand!

We have returned to the jobs we took leave from, each with some exciting new challenges and difficulties. But, overall, it has been a bit of a difficult transition for us both.

One year ago this month, we were creating tasty Thai dishes in Chiang Mai.

One year ago this month, we were playing with elephants in a Karen village in Northern Thailand.

There are definitely some things that we love about being back. Things like:

Being able to see family and friends often and feeling more connected to the lives of the people we care about. Despite the fact that the worldwide web gave us the opportunities to stay in touch really well, we did feel like we were out of sync with a lot of the people we care most about. It is nice to be able to see them often.
Having access to a washer and dryer (mostly a dryer!!) any time we want! After living with really limited clothing options in really hot, humid climates, it is still really lovely to be able to put on clean clothes every day. Dryers are an especially amazing thing: delivering warm, soft, pleasant smelling clothes every time! Della, in particular, used to hate doing laundry, but now she appreciates it.
Everyday conveniences of the first world. Not surprisingly, it has been nice to get back the relatively quick internet speeds, the diverse array of appliances, and the dependable hot water of home. We really have begun to appreciate it even more often than we did before we went away.
The comfort of our own home. There is definitely something to be said for having your own space… A place where you can keep “stuff” that you don’t need at any particular moment. The comfort of our own bed, the familiarity of our own rooms, and the ease of having our own cars has definitely been nice.
A regular routine. We put this one last, because it has been nice, but also difficult and restrictive at the same time. While on the road, the freedom was amazing, but it was also a challenge. There was no normal. Decisions were required all the time, for every moment. Things like what to eat, where to go, and how to get there were constant questions. There is a comfort in having a routine again and knowing what comes next.

11 months ago today, we were celebrating Eric’s birthday by kayaking the karsts of Cat Ba, Vietnam!

However, despite our enjoyment of the list above, we have still felt… despondent at times. Somehow, regular life just isn’t as much fun as traveling. (Surprise, surprise!) We miss the constant stimulation, the excitement of getting outside of comfort zones, the beauty of the world, the exploration of other cultures, the challenges of figuring out new places that we don’t understand, the spontaneity, and just plain thrill of being on the road.

On July 13, 2014 we were exploring the roads of Botswana – and even facing down a hyena and Camp Khwai!

For those reasons, we’re happy to say that recently, we were able to purchase tickets for not one, but two trips abroad in the upcoming year!

On Aug 13, 2014 we were doing an early morning beer tasting in Munich at the oldest continuously functioning brewery in the world….

…. before meeting up with Eric’s parents in Prague!

For spring break, we are thrilled to be meeting our friend Phill, who is currently on his RTW, in Nicaragua for a whirlwind week exploring Ometepe, Granada, and Leon. If you have any must-dos, please share.

13 months ago, we had just finished an awesome week with Phill in Bali!

In addition, we were able to purchase tickets for our honeymoon this summer. We took a long time to decide where we wanted to visit for this trip, considering places like Iceland, Scandanavia, Italy, and the Greek Isles. We ultimately decided to do what we should have done to finish our RTW, had we not come home early: Japan! We had already done a bit of planning for this final country, and are quite excited to explore it. Again, any recommendations would be welcome!

We’re super excited to be strapping on our packs again!

RTW Timeline: 4th Century BC

01/12/201601/12/2016globegazers Leave a comment

After seeing so many interesting sites and learning many facts about places all around the world, we thought it would be interesting to arrange the different places and events on a timeline to provide more of a context for the different highlights.

Towards the end of the fifth century BC, Athens lost the Peloponnesian War to Sparta and the classic era of Athens came to an end. However, Greece was still a major player in the events of the world, with the conquests of Alexander the Great spreading its influence far and wide.

380 BC – Butrint Fortified With a New Wall

The city of Butrint in present-day Albania was a Greek city that grew in importance during this era, enough so that a large wall was built to protect the inhabitants of the island. We walked through this wall on our visit to the ruins on a day trip from Saranda. This site was later a major Roman city, so the Greek ruins were mixed in with those from later time periods.

375 BC – Temple to Aesclepius constructed at Epidavros

The Greek city of Epidavros was a pilgrimage site for those looking to be healed of physical ailments. Therefore, a temple to Aesclepius, the god of health, was built here. Not much is left of the temple today. We visited Epidavros as a day trip from Nafplio.

The temple

360 BC – Tholos at Delphi Built

One of the most iconic ruins at the Greek city and pilgrimage site of Delphi is the partially reconstructed ruins of a tholos, a circular temple. Archaeologists are still debating the purpose of this structure.

In front of the Tholos

Mid 4th Century BC: Stadium at Olympia Moved to its Current Location

The city of Olympia was the site of the ancient Olympic games, a Panhellenic competition between athletes from all over Greece. We spent a nice afternoon in the ruins of this stadium.

Racing the track

350 BC – Tomb of Amyntas built by the Lycians in present-day Fethiye, Turkey

The Lycians were a civilization based along the “Turquoise Coast” of southwestern Turkey which existed concurrently with the Greeks and Romans. They were known for creating elaborate tombs in which the rock was carved to look like wood. A grand example of one of the tombs is carved into the hill overlooking Fethiye.

The Tomb of King Amnytas

Sometime in the 4th Century BC – King’s Tomb built in present-day Kaş, Turkey

Another type of Lycian tomb we saw was in the style of an elaborate sarcophagus elevated off the ground on a large platform. There is an impressive example of this style of tomb called the “King’s Tomb” in the middle of the modern city of Kaş.

King’s Tomb Jelfie

340 BC – Antikythera Ephebe sculpted

This bronze sculpture was found as part of the Antikythera shipwreck, hence its name. It is considered one of the classic Greek sculptures. Since we can’t see what object the subject is holding, we aren’t sure who it is, but many people believe it is Paris holding the golden apple. We viewed this sculpture at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Paris

338 BC – Phillippeion in Olympia constructed

Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father, had a monument constructed at Olympia to celebrate his victory in the Battle of Chaeronea, in which he defeated an alliance of Greek city states including Athens.

The Phillipeon

330 BC – Temple of Apollo at Delphi rebuilt after an earthquake

The main attraction at Delphi was the Temple of Apollo from which the oracle would issue prophecies and give advice.

Jelfie in front of the entrance to the temple

330 BC – Initial Construction of Theater at Epidavros

As mentioned earlier, Epidavros was a pilgrimage site for those looking to be healed. Its main attraction today though is its large Greek theater, which has been amazingly well-preserved. We enjoyed taking turns standing on stage while the other person ran to the top to test the amazing acoustics.

329 BC – Panathenaic Stadium rebuilt in marble

This large stadium in Athens was the host site for the Panathenaic Games, another Panhellenic festival held every four years. It was extensively renovated and reused for the first modern Olympics as well. We stayed in an Airbnb just behind this stadium during our second visit to Athens.

The view from the end of the stadium. They were setting up for the marathon finish line

Last Quarter of 4th Century BC – Doric Tomb built in present-day Kaş

In addition to the King’s Tomb mentioned earlier, Kaş also has another impressive Lycian tomb on a hill overlooking the city. It is called the Doric Tomb based on the shape of the column outlines carved into the wall.

Cube Tomb Jelfie

323 BC – Alexander the Great Dies

We didn’t see any artifacts related to Alexander the Great, but his death was such a large event that we thought it was worth putting onto the timeline for context. He had stretched his empire from Greece all the way to present-day Pakistan. He died at the age of 32.

After Alexander’s death, Greece entered into what is known as the Hellenistic period. Greece’s influence remained strong, but its art and culture would not continue to make the great steps forward that it had during the classical period. In addition, a new power began to arise in the Mediterranean which would shape the next few centuries.

RTW Timeline: 5th Century BC

11/16/2015globegazers 1 Comment

In our previous installment covering the first half of the first millennium BC, we saw the Greek culture grow and develop, leading up to an explosion of culture and history in the period we will cover today, the 5th century BC. This is considered to be the classical era of Greece, and especially of Athens as that was the center of much of the development.

490 BC – Athenian Treasury built at Delphi to celebrate victory at Battle of Marathon

The sanctuary at Delphi was surrounded by structures built by the city-states of ancient Greece, given as offerings to the oracle in thanks for the good advice. After Athens defeated the Persians in the battle of Marathon (the one that gave the modern race its name), the city dedicated a treasury in Delphi to show its thanks and display the spoils of victory.

Failed jelfie in front of the Athenian Treasury

480 BC – King Leonidas of Sparta dies at the battle of Thermopylae

King Leonidas led the militaristic city-state of Sparta on the Peloponnese peninsula. He died in the battle of Thermopylae against the Persians (the same battle dramatized in the movie 300). There is a large contemporary statue of him in the modern city of Sparta which we visited.

A statue for King Leonidas (main character in 300)

478 BC – Serpent Column erected as part of a sacrificial tripod in Delphi

We actually saw this column at its current location in Istanbul. Emperor Constantine moved the column from Delphi to Constantinople for use as a decoration at his new Hippodrome.

The serpent heads on the top of the column were removed at some point

474 BC – Charioteer of Delphi created

We viewed this well-known striking bronze sculpture at the archaeological museum in Delphi.

The famous Bronze Charioteer

460 BC – Artemision Bronze Sculpted

Art historians don’t know if this depicts Zeus or Poseidon, since he could either be hurling a lightning bolt or a trident. The date for this sculpture is also just a guess, because it was found as part of a shipwreck about which not much is known.

Zeus/Poseidon

456 BC – Temple of Zeus Built in Olympia

This was the largest temple at Olympia. Today, only one of the massive Doric columns has been reconstructed.

Temple of Zeus

440 BC – Temple of Poseidon at Sounion constructed

This temple, located on a promontory overlooking Cape Sounion, was a pilgrimage site where those about to take a sea voyage could make offerings to the god of the sea.

The Temple of Poseidon

438 BC – Parthenon Completed

The classic Greek temple dedicated to Athena, the patron of Athens, sits on the acropolis overlooking the city below. The decorative sculptures have been removed and it is under recontruction, but just seeing it in person was a great experience.

The Parthenon

432 BC – Construction of Athenian acropolis Propylaea halted due to outbreak of Peloponnesian War

Athens dominated the Classical age of Greece, but it didn’t last for too long. War eventually broke out between Athens and the Peloponnesian city-states (led by Sparta). Costs for the war drained money from the treasury, and the ceremonial entrance to the Acropolis, the Propylaea, was never completed.

The Propylaea is still the main entrance for tourists

420 BC – Nike of Paeonius created for display at Olympia

The dynamic sculpture is missing a few pieces these days but still does a great job of conveying motion.

Nike – goddess of Victory. She stood on a pedestal where the Olympic victors were crowned near the Temple of Zeus

420 BC – Temple of Athena Nike constructed on Athens acropolis

This small temple is found on the southwest corner of the Acropolis. This was the oldest Ionic temple that we saw. Nike means victory in Greek, and Athena was worshiped in her victorious form here. Note the date – the Athenians were praying for victory in the Peloponnesian War which was still going on.

Temple of Athena Nike at the entrance

415 BC – Construction of Temple of Hephaestus completed

This Doric temple, found in the Ancient Agora of Athens, is one of the better preserved temples that we saw.

Temple of Hephaestus Jelfie

406 BC – Construction of Erechtheion on Athenian Acropolis complete

The Erechtheion is a temple on the north side of the Acropolis, dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon. Arguably its most famous feature is the “Porch of the Caryatids,” where the columns holding up the roof were carved into women in flowing dresses.

The porch with the caryatids on the Erechtheion

404 BC – Sparta triumphs over Athens in the Peloponnesian War

We visited Sparta, but there was much less to see there than there had been in Athens. Its culture was much more focused on the military than it was on building grand temples.

This is Sparta! No, really, this is actually the historical site of Sparta. And the modern town of Sparta beyond.

After Athens lost the war, its time as the dominant force in the region was over, and its boom of monumental architecture was through. Structures like those seen on the Acropolis in Athens were never to be equaled.

However, as you will see in our next entry, covering the fourth century BC, there would still be many sites in Greece producing architectural gems that are world-renowned to this day.

Our Top 10 Favorite Places We Stayed on our RTW

10/07/2015globegazers Leave a comment

We’ve finished our RTW trip. We get a lot of questions about our favorite things on the trip, so we’ve decided to start a new series called “So, What Was Our Favorite…” We visited 29 countries on our RTW: Egypt (just 1 day), South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe (just 1 day), Namibia, Germany (just 1 day), Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Ireland, USA, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia (just Bali), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, and Nepal.

This edition will cover our top 10 favorite places we stayed around the world. These are not in order of preference, instead they are in the order in which we visited them.

When making this list, we found that how much we enjoyed a place had less to do with the actual accommodations (though certainly it helped when we felt comfortable) and more with the experience or vibe of a place. We loved places that gave us unique insights to the culture of the area, or places where we were able to meet a lot of like minded travelers to create connections.

Amber Tree Lodge, Cape Town, South Africa

The Amber Tree was a really wonderful place to stay in Cape Town. It had pretty comfortable beds in the dorms with substantial lockers, a full kitchen and an awesome common area. The vibe there was also just perfect for us, laid back, fun, but not a full party. We met a lot of really great people there, and had enjoyable evenings hanging out with travelers from all over the world! In addition, it was in a pretty great location – at the foot of Table Mountain, which made for great views from the balcony. It is also not too far a walk from the famous Long Street in Cape Town.

Pension Oaza, Levoca, Slovakia

We really enjoyed this pension in the small town of Levoca. We had a very large and comfortable room. We had plenty of space to spread out, a refrigerator and microwave, and our very own bathroom! The woman who owned the pension was kind and offered us homebaked goodies. She also told us to grab some of her many tomatos growing in her garden. It was quite a nice location too, located midway between the main bus station and old town.

Agria Retur Panzio, Eger, Hungary

This pension was extremely pleasant. We had a pretty sizable room with a private bathroom, and some skylights above our bed. There was a shared kitchen and meal area that was quite pleasant. We were only a few minutes walk from Old Town and the town Minaret was practically right outside our door! In addition, the lady owner was so kind and really interested in making sure that we felt at home. We felt as if she wanted to take us under her wing as a mother figure!

Apartments Samardzic, Kotor, Montenegro

When we arrived at the Apartments Samardzic, we almost immediately decided we wanted to extend our stay. That certainly bodes well for an accommodation! We had a nice queen-sized bed, a good bathroom, a kitchenette, a big living room, and our favorite feature: a view over the bay. We spent most of our afternoons just relaxing the in the living room, looking out over the bay and catching up on things. The kitchen was convenient and the bathroom was comfortable. The hosts live right next door, and were always very kind whenever we had a question.

Our own comfortable living room!

Enjoying the terrace

Ana’s Rest House, Berat, Albania

We were thrilled with our time at Ana’s in Berat. The guesthouse was quite new and comfortable. The bed was large and lovely. There was a small common area which we frequented and met several other interesting tourists. In addition, there was a lovely patio with a stunning view of Berat which we enjoyed on more than one occasion. We also lucked out with the new worker there. He was a native of Berat and was starting a burgeoning tour business. He was around all the time and we really enjoyed a lot of discussions with him from everything from books to American politics to Albanian history. After a lively and informative day with our guide, and several evening/breakfast conversations, he found out that Della was a teacher and he expressed his deep interest in teaching as well. He also was adamant that Della have a chance to see Albanian schools in action. Not knowing what to expect, we said that might be cool. He called a friend, a Peace Corps volunteer from Maryland, who worked in an alternative high school in Berat. This opened the door for us to spend the morning with the Peach Corps volunteer discussing his job and then an hour in his classroom where he works with a partner Albanian teacher to teach English to the students, the equivalent of seniors in the US. We really enjoyed and benefited from our stay at Ana’s!

pizza for lunch on the patio

Eucalyptus Hotel, Patara, Turkey

We were the only guests at this hotel as it was down season in Turkey. But, to be honest, that was part of the charm. We had a comfortable, pretty large room. The hotel provided breakfast every morning as part of the price. They also cooked dinner to order. All meals were served on a lovely outdoor patio which beautiful and comfortable Turkish style. The couple that ran the hotel was very kind and we did get a chance to chat with them a few times when they served us our meals. The owner also drove us to and from the bus stop at no extra charge which was a welcome and necessary service in the down season. We also made good friends with the cat at the hostel. We think they called her “Kedi,” which means kitten in Turkish. She would always join us for meals and follow us back to our room when we headed up.

The patio at the Eucalyptus Hotel

Yoe Yoe Lay Guesthouse, Mandalay, Myanmar

We can’t rave enough about this place! If you are going to Mandalay, you should stay there, no question. The level of service is amazing: everything is done with a smile, the provided breakfast is large and you have to fight to keep from getting extras and the facilities are nice, clean and commodious. The owner, who everyone calls “Mama,” is amazingly kind and generous, and will go out of her way to make you feel at home. She is so sweet, and wants to make everyone her children. On our last day there, she took us down the street to a restaurant, stuck around to make sure that we got excellent service, and then absolutely insisted on paying for our meal. She wouldn’t take no for an answer! We were overwhelmed by her generosity. Also, this place seems to attract a nice crowd of like-minded travelers, and we made a lot of fun connections just hanging out in the common area each night.

Della with “Mama” – the head of our amazing guesthouse – Yoe Yoe Lay

Payogan Homestay, Ubud, Bali

We actually didn’t find this place, our friend Phill (who is currently on his own RTW – check his blog here!) did when we joined him for our holiday in Bali! We are so glad that he did! The homestay’s owner is the amazingly gracious Ketut. It is slightly outside the town of Ubud and is within the complex of Ketut and his family’s home. Ketut makes sure that you are comfortable and well cared for! He also is an excellent tour guide for sights surrounding Ubud. Make sure to ask for his special pancakes for breakfast! In addition, he is heavily involved in his local temple and made sure to get us involved too. We were so lucky to experience a “birthday celebration” for that temple which meant several evenings of activities. Ketut and his family made sure that we had the correct clothing so we could attend and experience everything. We were so grateful for the opportunity!

Our homestay

Our wonderful hosts. Ketut is in the middle

Golden Time Hostel 2, Hanoi, Vietnam

There are three locations for the Golden Time throughout Hanoi. We loved Hostel 2, though it was really more like a hotel. The best part about the Golden Time was the friendly staff that work at the front desk. Tony and Ahn, a married couple, always greeted us by name and with a smile. There was always coffee, tea and bananas set out as well, which was refreshing after a long day of sightseeing. The included breakfast also had a good selection. The rooms were nice and spacious, so we slept well. The location was close to the main tourist attractions but not right in the center of the hubbub.

Posing with Ahn, the friendly proprietor at Golden Time Hostel 2

Hotel Bright Star, Kathmandu, Nepal

Hotel Bright Star is unique on this list, as we believe we were some of the last people to stay there. It was severely damaged in the earthquake on April 25. We will always remember the kindness and generosity that the owner of this hotel showed us both before and after the earthquake. This is a passage about the hotel from our blog Kathmandu: Before the Quake.

We didn’t get in until almost midnight, but the owner of our hotel, the Hotel Bright Star, had stayed up to check us in. We had a small room on the top floor – the stairs were a nice preview of what we expected to be a lot of uphill hiking on our trek.

This was only a preview of the generosity that the owner showed us during our three days in Kathmandu. He provided plenty of good advice, and walked us halfway to the tourist office (so we wouldn’t get lost) to pick up our trekking permits.That made it that much harder to see him again after the quake. We had left two bags at the hotel while trekking, and we went back into town on May 1 to pick them up. He said on the phone that he and his family were ok, but when we got there it was clear how close they had come to disaster.The hotel next door had collapsed during the quake, and all that was left was a pile of bricks and tangled wires. The owner, clearly shaken, told us that 10 people had died inside. We ran inside our hotel to get our bags, and it was clear that it was the first time that he had been back in. He didn’t want to linger, and neither did we; one of the walls of the lobby on the side of the collapsed building was bulging inwards.He said the rest of his family had been safely moved to Pokhara, but he would remain staying in a building down the street until all of the left baggage had been picked up. Hopefully the people who left their bags will return soon…

If you would like to read more about our experience during the Nepal Earthquake, click here.

We stayed at plenty other really good and interesting places around the world as well, so it was really hard to get this list down to 10! Still, it seems like this cream of the crop from all around the world is a good representation of the places we would like to stay on future travels as well.

RTW Timeline: First Half of the First Millennium BC

10/05/2015globegazers 1 Comment

Our first installment in the timeline series covered events from the beginning of human history up to 1000 BC. This installment will cover from then up to 500 BC. During this time, one of the great civilizations emerge, and a deity is born.

776 BC – First Panhellenic Games in Olympia, Greece

The Greeks established a tradition of Panhellenic games, in which male athletes from all over the country would converge on a location and compete in contests of speed and strength. The most famous and the oldest were the games held in Olympia, which gave rise to the tradition we now know as the Olympics.

Around 600 BC – Sounion Kourous Carved

As the Greek population grew and the culture began to flourish, what we now call the Archaic Greek culture emerged. The hallmarks of the art of this period were standing figures carved out of stone; the male figure was called a kourous and the female a kore. We saw one of the more well-known Archaic kourous figures at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Sounion Kourous (male)

590 BC – Temple of Hera Built at Olympia

The Panhellenic Games held every four years at Olympia were not just an athletic competition. In addition, they functioned as a large religious festival. To support the religious activities, a large number of temples were built in an area called the sanctuary, or Altis. This temple was one of the first structures erected, and one of the first examples of a Doric temple. Today, it is used as the site where the Olympic flame is lit by sunlight reflected from a mirror.

Remains of the Temple of Hera

586 BC – First Pythian Games Held in Delphi, Greece

The games held at Olympia are the most famous, but the sanctuary to Apollo at Delphi also hosted a Panhellenic Games every four years. These games had the same athletic events as those at Olympia, and also had art and dance competitions.

The remains of the stadium from the Pythian Games (renovated during Roman times)

580 BC – “Argos Twins” Sculpture Created

This pair of kouros statues were sculpted in Argos, but were found in Delphi, where we viewed them at the archaeological museum.

The Twins of Argos

563 BC – Siddhartha Gautama Born

The man who would attain enlightenment and become the Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal around the middle of the 6th century BC. We didn’t visit this site, but we did see the influence of this event in the countless stupas, pagodas and wats that we visited all throughout Asia.

Mandalay, Myanmar: Our first encounter with a Buddha with LED illumination. Definitely not the last…

Luang Prubang, Laos

Sukhothai, Thailand: Looking up at Buddha

Kathmandu, Nepal: Image at Swayambhunath Temple

Phnom Sampeau, Cambodia

560 BC – Sphinx of Naxos Created

This is another famous piece of Archaic Greek art that we viewed at the archaeological museum in Delphi. This massive carving of the mythical creature was sent by the island of Delphi as a offering to the sanctuary in Delphi.

The Sphinx of Naxos

554 BC – Mahamuni Buddha Image Cast

Legend states that this bronze image of Buddha was cast in the kingdom of Arakan when the Buddha visited. It now resides in a special temple outside of Mandalay in Myanmar (Burma). Male pilgrims apply gold leaf to the image which has given it a large gold covering.

Males applying gold leaf

520 BC – Temple of Apollo Built on Aegina

We visited the island of Aegina as a day trip from Athens with Della’s family. We walked by the ruins of this temple to Apollo on our way to the beach, but couldn’t go in because it was closed for the day. All that remains of this temple is a solitary column that we were able to see from a distance.

The lone column remaining in the Temple of Apollo

As the first half of the first millennium BC drew to a close, the Greek culture began to reach its apex. In our next installment, we will travel through many of the relics of the Greek classical period that we were able to view.

Gliding Through Green Bay… on a Segway!

10/01/201509/29/2015globegazers Leave a comment

We were happy that we got to visit some family in Green Bay, WI during the summer. Della’s extended family live there, so we visit fairly often. However, we don’t always get to be tourists!

This trip, Della’s uncle and aunt decided that there was a new activity that we just had to try. We were going to see historic downtown Green Bay… via Segway!

We had never ridden Segways before, and to be honest, had been a little annoyed by them zipping around everywhere in Prague. At the same time, we were quite curious what it would be like.

We chose to do a Segway the Fox short tour which was a quick 50 minute intro to Segways and downtown. In retrospect, we do wish that we had more time with the Segways because that 50 minutes included introduction, practice, and then a very abbreviated tour. It would have been nice to have more time to play around on the Segways, and definitely fun to get a more in depth tour of old Green Bay.

We were impressed with the area! We hadn’t experienced downtown Green Bay before and we thought it was very cute. We enjoyed gliding around to the museum, over the river, and through some of the newly bustling streets. Downtown Green Bay seems to have had a lot of new development during the recent years, so it was even entertaining for Della’s family who live there!

Group shot with the statue of Zachary Taylor, commander of Fort Howard for several years prior to being president

Excitement!

Group shot at the museum

Our guide giving us some info

Learning how to correctly mount and dismount the segway

Other Things to Do in WI

We enjoyed a visit to the National Railroad Museum as well. It was a large complex with multiple interesting exhibits. It also houses several full historic trains which you can enter and explore. We had fun learning more about the Union Pacific Big Boy, which was the world’s largest steam locomotive.

The museum with full size trains to explore

Riding the narrated train

Eric became the engineer

The Big Boy

In addition to the exhibits, the museum offers a video about the history of the Big Boy, as well as a narrated train tour around the grounds.

We probably would have enjoyed looking at the museum in a little more depth, but this ended up being a slightly different kind of museum trip. Della’s cousins have some young children who joined us. It was refreshing to look at the museum through the eyes of kindergartners and to feel their excitement during the train ride and through exploring the full size display trains. However, it did change our normal museum pattern! It was a fun way to spend an afternoon, with activities for adults and children!

We also took the weekend to visit Della’s relatives’ land “up north.” We visited the lovely lakes near St. Germain which is about a three hour drive northwest of Green Bay. We spent time biking through the area, enjoying the scenery, and swimming and water skiing the lakes.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip to a familiar state. We hope to explore Green Bay as tourists even more next time we’re there!

RTW Timeline: Prehistory and the Earliest Civilizations

09/29/2015globegazers 1 Comment

The first installment of our timeline series will cover the oldest things we saw on the entire trip. In case you’re wondering, this only includes human activity; obviously we saw many natural wonders around the world that are much older.

2.5 – 2.1 million years ago – The Age of the “Mrs Ples” hominid fossil found in Sterkfontein Caves, outside Johannesburg, South Africa

The Cradle of Humankind is an area where many remains of our most ancient ancestors have been found (including a recent discovery). We visited the cave where some of the most famous remains were discovered as part of our visit to the park on the very last stop of our self-drive safari.

One of the hominid fossils from the Cradle of Humankind

Around 4000 B.C. – San people inhabit the Twyfelfontein area and make rock carvings

The site of Twyfelfontein (//Uis-//Ais in the native language) in Namibia contains rock engravings from the San people (a.k.a Bushmen) dated from 2000 to over 6000 years old.

2560 BC – Pyramids of Giza constructed

We were able to view these ancient wonders of the world during our brief layover in Cairo at the very beginning of the trip.

Around 2500 BC – The Cycladic culture in the Greek islands produces unique figurines

Around the same time that the pyramids were being built, in islands around the Aegean Sea, an emerging culture was making these distinctively-shaped sculptures. We saw examples of these at the National Archeological Museum in Athens.

Cycladic figurines

16th Century BC – Grave Circle A at Mycenae Formed

1000 years later, the dominant culture on the Pelopponesian Peninsula of Greece was what we now refer to as the Mycenaean culture. These are supposedly the people who fought against Troy in the Trojan War. The site of Mycenae is now in ruins, but some evidence remains to give you a feel for their culture. They buried their dead nobility in grave circles which were filled with treasure. The famous archaeologist Henry Schliemann thought this grave circle was the final resting place of Agamemnon, who led the Mycenaeans against Troy.

Grave Circle A

1450 BC – What is now called the Obelisk of Theodosius set up by Thutmose III in Karnak, Egypt

We saw this obelisk in Istanbul, in the ruins of the ancient Hippodrome. It was brought to Constantinople by Roman Emperor Theodosius in the 4th Century AD, but was originally erected in Egypt.

The Hippodrome

13th Century BC – Lion Gate at Mycenae built

Back in Mycenae (the site of Grave Circle A), probably the most famous feature is the Lion Gate, the main entrance to citadel. It was build about three centuries after Grave Circle A.

The Lion Gate

Around 1250 BC – “Treasury of Atreus” tholos tomb built at Mycenae

In the later years of Mycenae, the main style of the grand tombs was the tholos tomb, built in the shape of a beehive with a large, domed interior. The largest is what Henry Schliemann deemed the “Treasury of Atreus.”

The Treasury of Atreus

Around 1200 BC – Palaces at Mycenae Destroyed

Not too long after the last monumental structures were built at Mycenae, the civilization collapsed and the citadel and its palaces were destroyed.

The remains of the palace

Around 1000 BC – The Basketmaker People Settle the Mesa Verde Region

Meanwhile, in North America, the culture that archaeologists refer to as the “Basketmakers” settled in the Mesa Verde region. They didn’t leave behind any iconic structures, but we know they were in the area based on remnants of baskets and other agricultural and hunting relics.

One of the canyons in Mesa Verde

That wraps our first installment of our RTW Timeline series. Our next post will take us back to Greece and observe the emergence of one of history’s most famous civilizations.

End of RTW Trip Recap

09/07/2015globegazers Leave a comment

We’ve done quite a few posts about our RTW stats, including things like our budget, our most expensive and least expensive locations, and our favorite things in many categories. But, one thing was missing – a round up of our final numbers as collected from all of our Monthly Updates. So, just for fun, here are our final stats for the RTW:

Countries visited: 29

Countries looked at: 3

Beds Slept In: 103 (One of those was our Self-Drive Safari tent which we set up 18 times!)

Chairs Slept In: 1

Tarps Slept Under: 1

Embassies Slept In: 1 (Hopefully the first and last of our life.)

UNESCO Heritage Sights Visited: 49

We traveled by 26 planes. Miles Flown: 54,353

We traveled by 10 boats.

We traveled by 12 trains.

We traveled 53 long distance buses/minibuses.

We traveled by 2 shared taxis.

We traveled by 4 rental car/trucks.

We traveled by 2 helicopters.

Eric read 51 books.

Della read 50 books.

Is there anything else you want to know?? Tell us in the comments!

So, What Were Our Favorite… Castles?!

08/31/201509/07/2015globegazers 3 Comments

This edition will cover our top 10 favorite castles/fortresses around the world. These are not in order of preference, instead they are in the order in which we visited them.

Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa

The Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town was the first permanent European settlement in South Africa, built by the Dutch East India Company in the 1660s. It is quite beautiful, with yellow walls and a star shape. Entrance includes a tour which we quite enjoyed. We also were fortunate to see the “Key Ceremony” at noon.

Český Krumlov Castle, Český Krumlov, Czech Republic

This building doesn’t quite look like a fairy tale castle, but was fun to explore! It’s free to walk around the grounds, but to go inside you do have to pay for a guided tour. There are a few different tour options; we chose the one that took us through Renaissance and Baroque era rooms (no pictures allowed inside, unfortunately). We also really enjoyed strolling through at sunset. You can get quite high in the castle which makes for lovely views over the city.

Spiš Castle, Slovakia

As you approach the town of Spišské Podhradie by bus, you are immediately struck by the enormous size and majesty of Spiš Castle on the hill above town. The entrance fee includes the use of an audio guide (free as long as you returned it within 90 minutes). We walked through the castle and listened to the stories on the guide. There actually wasn’t very much left of the castle. The royals stopped living in it in the early 18th century, and then in the late 18th century it burned down. What’s left has more of the feel of an archaeological site than the other castles we visited. It was built in the 12th century and went through many phases of construction and purpose. It has 3 baileys, which we learned were walls to protect itself. It is really more of a fortress. It went through many owners, but always was an imposing view over the valleys nearby. The grounds of the castle are massive: there are multiple courtyards within the complex. After doing the audio tour, we spent some time just soaking in the ambiance from different places within the structure. The view was great as well!

Diocletian’s Palace, Split, Croatia

This palace takes up a good portion of old town Split. It was built for the retirement of the emperor of the Roman empire around 300 AD. There are an interesting mix of original Roman structures and other houses and shops built during the next several centuries after villagers moved inside the walls following the Slavic invasion in 700 AD. It was awesome to see that the area had been inhabited for so long, with people still living and working inside.

Diocletian’s Palace is in the background, with all the modern development now surrounding it

Fortress and City Walls at Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor has a very impressive defense system. Not only does it have thick walls to protect from attacks from the sea, it also has a series of walls running up the hill behind the Old Town that protect from attacks by land. Today, you can pay a small fee to hike up the old walls all the way to a fort at the very top. We took advantage of this one evening, and had great views over the bay as the sun set.

Gjirokaster Castle, Gjirokaster, Albania

The castle at Gjirokaster offered sweeping views of the valley, an eerie collection of old tanks from WWII, and even a tomb of Bektashi, the founder of the Bektashi sect. It also had an old US Air Force jet that was shot down during communism that was just there, ready to play on. It was nice to spend time in the castle where we didn’t see a lot of other tourists. There was also a museum of more old armory which we did not choose to visit. The views of valley and neighboring mountains were absolutely stunning.

US Air Force Bomber

The castle grounds

Palamidi Fortress, Nafplio, Greece

We took an afternoon to visit the largest of Nafplio’s Venetian fortresses, which doesn’t have much in it but provides excellent views of the surrounding area. You can take a taxi up to the fortress at the top of the hill, but we decided to climb the steps. We didn’t start heading up until 2:00… and were disheartened when we saw a sign at the base that the fortress was closing at 3:00! We raced up the stairs and made it at about 2:30. The good news was that admission was free since it was the first Sunday of the month. We just had time to explore one of the seven bastions, but were quite impressed with the structure. (We think they should film Game of Thrones here!) We were kicked out at 3:00 and regret that we weren’t able to spend more time in the fortress, but we found a piece of the walls that was outside the gates to sit on, and read our books while looking down over the Old Town. It was a great place to relax and then later enjoy the sunset.

Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

Topkapi Palace in Istanbul was the home of the Ottoman sultan from 1465 to 1856. The palace has four different courtyards and many exquisitely decorated rooms. We toured through all of the areas open to the public, including the harem which required an extra ticket. The grounds were expansive and, despite sort of bad weather, we enjoyed exploring most of the nooks and crannies. We were particularly excited here because it finally happened!! – Someone recognized Eric’s Rice baseball hat. We met a current Rice student (Jones College) who was studying abroad. How fun!

Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

We spent a hot and crowded day in Bangkok exploring the ceremonial home of the Thai monarchy, the Grand Palace. We paid our steep (500 baht = $15) entrance fee and headed into the first part, Wat Phra Kaew, a.k.a.the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We first explored the colorful chedis, then braced ourselves and dove into the big crowds squeezing in to see the Emerald Buddha itself. The statue was pretty, but far away and a little small, so we didn’t linger. We left the wat and then walked through the grounds of the palace. This was formerly the residence of the Thai royalty, and there are many fancy buildings that show a mix of Thai and Western architectural styles. Most are closed off to the public, but a few of the throne halls are open, so we wandered through them to see the splendor and take a brief respite from the heat. The splendor of the buildings with colors and sparkles is hard to beat. We also followed a tip from Wayne and Peggy, who had visited the previous day, and finished our visit at the slightly out of the way Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, which ended making our top 10 favorite museums list.

Imperial Citadel, Hue, Vietnam

The Vietnamese city of Hue was the seat of the Nguyen dynasty and thus the capital of Vietnam from 1802 to 1945. The main remnant of this ruling period is the ruins of the Imperial City, the home of the emperors. It is surrounded by a large wall, and then within the Citadel is another set of walls and the impressive Ngo Mon Gateway into the Imperial Enclosure, where all of the main activities took place. From there we explored the large site which had been largely destroyed during the French and American wars. However, there is a lot of ongoing restoration work. We explored the Thai Hoa Palace which was used for official receptions and important ceremonies before heading to the Hall of the Mandarins. The Forbidden Purple City was once reserved for the personal use and residence of the emperor, but there is not much left now. Some of the the most beautiful parts of the entire enclosure were the Truong San Residence and the Dien Tho Residence for the wives and mothers of the emperor.

The Ngo Mon Gate (under renovation), the entrance to the Imperial Enclosure